Removing trip hazards at home: making the house safer, room by room

Removing trip hazards at home: making the house safer, room by room

Many falls happen in the very place people feel safest: at home. That is not a contradiction, it is a consequence of habit. When you have walked the same route from bed to bathroom for decades, at some point you stop looking. The rug that curls at one corner, the loop of cable behind the armchair, the threshold out to the balcony - all of it is so familiar that it has become invisible.

The good news: unlike eyesight, strength or balance, a home can be changed. Usually without building work, without a tradesperson, and often in a single afternoon. What follows is a walk-through, room by room, with jobs you can tackle in order.

Why familiar rooms turn risky

Several things come together in later life. Eyes need more light, and more time to adjust to darkness. Strength and balance fade, so a small stumble is harder to correct. Meanwhile the home changes almost imperceptibly: a new runner, a box in the hallway, an extra cable for the tablet. Each change on its own is harmless. Together they add up to an obstacle course nobody set out to build.

That is why a second pair of eyes is worth so much. Someone who lives there every day stops seeing the trouble spots. A visiting relative spots them straight away.

The walk-through with fresh eyes

Set aside an hour and go round the home together, the way it is actually used: in slippers, along the usual route from the front door to the kitchen, from the armchair to the bathroom. Then walk it again in half-light, the way it looks at night. What you are looking for is simple: anything that slips, wobbles, gets in the way or cannot be seen.

Photograph the spots that stand out. Photos turn a vague "it is a bit tight here" into a concrete list.

Hallway and entrance

The hallway holds the most weak points, because everything meets there: shoes, bags, wet soles, changing light.

• Loose runners and doormats should either go, or be held down with a non-slip underlay or double-sided tape. A curled corner is the single most common tripping edge there is.
• A solid seat for putting shoes on and off does more for safety than any amount of balancing on one leg.
• A tray or hook for keys and bag beside the door means one hand stays free on the way in.
• Take out door thresholds where you can, or level them with a small ramp. Where that is not possible, mark them in a contrasting colour.
• The light should come on as you step in, not three paces further into the room.

Living room

Here it is mainly about walking routes. Arrange the furniture so a continuous, wide path remains from the door to the armchair and back, wide enough that a walking frame, or someone lending an arm, will later fit alongside.

• Run cables along the wall or bundle them into trunking, never straight across the room.
• Take low side tables, footstools and magazine racks out of the walking routes. Anything below eye level is easily missed.
• The main armchair wants firm armrests and a seat height that allows standing up without a run-up.
• Check what someone leans on along the way. If that turns out to be a drawer unit on castors, a flimsy shelf or a houseplant, something stable belongs there instead.

Kitchen

• Everything used daily belongs between hip and shoulder height. That removes the bending and the stretching in one go.
• Chairs are not step ladders. A sturdy step stool with a grab rail is one of the cheapest purchases you can make.
• Wipe up spills at once, including the splash of water in front of the sink.
• A non-slip mat at sink and hob soaks up moisture, as long as it does not slide about itself.

Bathroom

The bathroom is the room where the least effort brings the greatest improvement.

• Non-slip mats belong in the shower or bath and in front of it.
• Grab rails are screwed in place, not stuck on with suction cups. And to be perfectly clear: a towel rail is not a grab rail, and neither is the shower screen or the edge of the basin.
• A shower stool turns a wobbly situation into a calm one.
• A level-access shower is the biggest gain of all, but the only item on this list that genuinely means building work.
• A night light stops anyone stepping from darkness into glare and seeing nothing at all for a few seconds.
• If the bathroom door opens inwards and is locked, nobody can get in when it matters. A door that opens outwards, or a lock that releases from outside, solves that.

The bedroom and the route to it

The night-time route from bed to bathroom is one of the most critical in the whole home: tired, in the dark, often in a hurry.

• A light switch or lamp must be within reach of the bed, without getting up. Better still are small motion-sensor night lights at floor level that light the way quietly.
• This route stays clear. No laundry basket, no bag, no charging cable.
• After waking, sit on the edge of the bed a moment before setting off. Circulation needs those few seconds.
• The phone or emergency call device belongs within reach of the bed, not out in the hallway just because that is where the socket is.

Stairs, cellar and outdoors

• A handrail belongs on both sides, continuous, and should reach past the last step.
• Mark step edges in a contrasting colour, the first and the last step above all.
• Nothing gets left standing on the stairs, not even briefly.
• The light must be switchable at the top and at the bottom.
• Outdoors, moss, wet leaves and icy patches are the classics. A motion sensor at the front door, and a clear agreement about who clears the path in winter, are part of fall prevention too.

Light is the cheapest improvement of all

If you do only one thing: more light. Not harsher, but more of it and more even, without glare and without hard shadows. Motion sensors in hallway, bathroom and bedroom take away the decision of whether switching on is "worth it". And two-way switches at both ends of a corridor mean nobody has to cross a dark passage to reach the light.

Shoes and clothing count too

Firm slippers with a closed heel and a non-slip sole are safer than soft mules you slide straight out of. Socks on laminate or tiles are a risk in their own right. And trouser legs that are too long, or a floor-length dressing gown, are trip hazards you carry around with you.

What cannot be tidied away

Even the best prepared home does not rule out a fall. What matters then is how quickly somebody notices that something has happened, especially when a person lives alone.

That is exactly what NOA is for. At the press of a button, the trusted contacts stored in the system are alerted first: family, neighbours, close friends, the people who can be there quickest. If the chain reaches nobody, a 24/7 emergency call centre steps in as the backstop. None of that replaces a safe home. It is the cover behind it.

A plan that stays realistic

Anyone who tries to change everything at once usually changes nothing. Take three points a week, in this order:

1. The night-time route from bed to bathroom - light and a clear path.
2. The bathroom - mats, grab rails, a stool.
3. Stairs - handrail, markings, nothing left standing.
4. Walking routes in the living area - cables, rug edges, low furniture.
5. Everything else.

One last point, more important than any mat: do this together, not over the other person's head. Anyone who finds their home rearranged without being asked will push back, and rightly so. Questions work better than instructions. "Does that runner get in your way sometimes as well?" will get you further than "That has to go."

Note: This article is not a substitute for medical or nursing advice. If gait, dizziness or the frequency of falls changes, please speak to a doctor.